Remorse
by Sokkaweekly
Summary: On the night before the arrival of the Comet, Sokka feels the time is right to get some things off his chest. Sukka oneshot.


The moon had waned, the silver glow more diminished than he'd ever seen. It was practically non-existent.

Part of him wondered if that was the influence of the Comet, the burning rock growing strong enough to challenge the celestial planet. It was a chilling thought.

The night sky seemed so barren without its crowning jewel. None of the twinkling stars could ever compare to the majesty of the lunar sphere. He turned away in disgust.

And caught sight of the girl sat next to him, her eyes half-closed as she too contemplated the sky.

Shame and guilt ran through him as he observed her, his earlier actions had been unwarranted. He'd just been overcome with ancient memories, emotions he'd not managed to bury completely.

He swallowed, gathering his courage. For a moment his mouth hung open, words unable to form.

"Suki?" He ventured.

Her eyes opened fully again, turning to him in curiousity. She made a sound in her throat, but didn't say anything.

"I just wanted to apologise. Y'know, for being all weird during the play. I didn't mean to ignore you," he said, contrite.

She blinked in confusion for a moment before she remembered. She raised an eyebrow haughtily, but then sighed.

"Don't worry about it, Sokka. I'm sorry too - it was none of my business," Suki dismissed his words.

He frowned, shaking his head.

"No, really. You deserve to know. I'd have told you before but there was never a right moment. You remember back at the Serpent's Pass?" He asked her.

Suki could recall the memory in a moment. She'd spent hours imagining it in her head during her time in the Boiling Rock. It had helped her stay sane as she endured Azula's taunts and the worry over her missing Warriors.

Hadn't she said something then, about the moon? She hadn't picked up on his wistfulness at the time, but in hindsight it was easy to see.

"You said you hadn't been able to protect someone at the North Pole," she answered slowly.

He stared up into space, idly tapping the hilt of his sword. Eventually he sighed, hanging his head slightly.

"Her name was Yue," he began shakily. "She was the daughter of the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. And their princess."

Suki's brow creased in puzzlement, and she interrupted him gently.

"Princess? But isn't your dad chief of your tribe?" She said.

Sokka nodded once.

"That doesn't make me a prince though, despite what I said to her about it. The South is younger and smaller than the North, we don't have the same rules and traditions. I might not even become chief after Dad," he explained.

He realised they had gone off track and shook his head to clear it.

"Anyway, Yue was… she was incredible. Whenever she was near I couldn't look away, unable to think of anything else. I felt like a kid and a man all at once."

It was obvious by the increasing scowl on her face that Suki was hardly pleased by his near-worship of this mystery woman.

"But we knew it was never gonna last. We both had obligations - she was betrothed, I was with Aang. I just didn't think it was going to be over so soon. Not long after we arrived, the Fire Nation showed up with a huge fleet," he continued.

Suki could imagine it; dozens of metallic vessels, each filled with bloodthirsty firebenders. Just one had dealt considerable damage to her own home, even with Aang's intervention.

"Their leader was a guy named Zhao. He wanted to crush the North completely, by destroying the moon spirit that allowed them to waterbend. He found the little pond where the spirit lived, in the form of a koi fish. And then he killed it."

Suki gasped, holding a hand to her mouth in dismay. The mere notion that anyone would commit such an act was horrifying.

"The moon turned red and the Water Tribe was defenceless, none of their benders able to fight any more. We surrounded Zhao, but it was too late for us to do anything. Aang though, he went mental. The Avatar State took over and he destroyed all of the Fire Nation ships. Looking back, it was awesome."

Sokka took a moment to remember the carnage, a small smile on his face.

"But even with all the firebenders dead, the moon spirit was still gone. But one thing Zhao didn't know was that when Yue was a baby, she was blessed by Tui. Because she had some small part of the spirit in her, she was able to restore the spirit by giving up her own life."

A tear trickled down Suki's cheek as Sokka finished his tale.

"Did- Did you love her?" She asked, her voice unsteady.

Sokka gazed at her steadily for a moment, before shaking his head.

"No, I didn't know her long enough for that. But I liked her a lot, and she will always be special to me," he said, his own voice thick.

He shifted closer to Suki, placing his hand on her cheek.

"But not as special as you," he added softly.

Suki smiled weakly, leaning into his touch.

"I love you," she muttered.

He kissed her gently for a moment, before standing up.

"I love you too. Now come on, we'd better get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be… eventful."

She laughed for a second at the understatement, before sighing.

"I'll be along in a moment. I just need a bit of time to process everything," she whispered.

Sokka nodded, taking her hand and squeezing it before heading back inside.

Suki stared up at the empty sky, all manner of feelings and thoughts churning inside her.

"Thank you," she said eventually. "For everything."

She left it at that and followed after Sokka.


End file.
